A fledgling foodie dished up some creative cuisine and plenty of personality on Food Network Canada Sunday.
Twelve-year-old Paige Clark of Brantford was among the competitors on Chopped Canada Junior, a reality cooking television series that challenges young cooks to make something delicious with a basket of unusual ingredients.
“It was cool being on a TV set,” said Paige, who is a Grade 7 student at Walter Gretzky Elementary School.
Paige’s parents, Paul and Patti, saw the call for open auditions on Facebook and thought outgoing Paige, who likes to experiment in the kitchen, would be a natural for the show.
She was among 1,600 kids who applied online for a spot.
The audition process began last February when Paige had a telephone interview with Food Network Canada staff, “just to make sure I’d be able to talk and cook,” she said.
That was followed by taped interview in Toronto.
“They liked her personality and look,” said Paul. “She’s very social. Her calendar is fuller than ours. We have a hard time keeping up with her.”
After Paige earned one of four competitor spots on the show, a camera crew came to her Brantford home for half a day in April to shoot a mini biography. They filmed her in the kitchen and at the barbecue. At the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, they hooked up her skates with a GoPro camera so she could show off her hockey skills.
The show, called Going Crackers, was filmed in late May when Paige joined three other competitors in the Chopped Canada Junior kitchen.
In each episode, hosted by Brad Smith, four competitors face off before a rotating panel of judges. They race the clock to turn the “mystery ingredients” into a three-course meal.
Paige and her competitors were tasked with making an appetizer from cheddar crackers, soft tofu, mixed pitted olives, and popcorn shoots, micro greens grown from popcorn kernels, which Paige likened to “lettuce from Mars.”
The cooks can also add ingredients they select from the kitchen’s stocked pantry.
The young culinarian said she had a little trouble with the flimsy tofu, eventually creating a tasty recipe by coating it with a cracker crust and deep frying it.
Paige turned out a popcorn shoot salad with mixed pitted olive vinaigrette, using olive oil, lettuce and pine nuts, along with the basket ingredients.
Although the judges – chef Anne Yarymowich, chef Eden Grinshpan and chef and restaurateur Susur Lee - raved about the dish, time ran out for Paige who wasn’t able to add the vinaigrette to the last of the plates, an “almost fatal” error in the competition, said Paul.
Although Paige was the first to be “chopped,” Paul said the experience “was a blast” and included a stay for Paige and her mom at the Fairmont Royal York, $100 in cash, a pizza maker and some Food Network swag.
The winner of the competition took home $5,000.
The Clarks, unsure when the show would air until a couple weeks ago, were sworn to secrecy about Paige’s performance.
On Sunday night, they celebrated with family and friends, even rolling out a red carpet for Paige.
“I’d like to be on TV again,” she said. “I like being on camera.”
The show will air several more times this week on Food Network Canada.
mruby@postmedia.com